What We Do
Programs, Projects, and Events
We offer many opportunities for the community to engage with us via educational webinars, film showings, book discussions, and gatherings and activities throughout the year.
Community Outreach
Parks and Nature
Who We Are
Go Green Wilmette: Helping Wilmette Go Green since 2006
Our Mission: To raise environmental awareness, inspire people to take action, and create a more sustainable community.
Our Vision: All members of the Wilmette community work together as stewards of our shared environment, ensuring clean air, clean water, and natural green spaces for the health and well-being of generations to come.
The Four Pillars of our Mission – How we do it:
- Building Awareness and educating all generations.
- Taking Action and building community with our neighbors.
- Engaging in Advocacy on behalf of the Earth and its people.
- Providing Advice as a trusted resource for our community.
Our Guiding Principles
- We proudly work with Wilmette residents, businesses, schools, government, and faith organizations, as well as our neighboring communities, to accomplish our mission.
- We believe in building community and working collaboratively.
- We strive to be regional leaders and to help new environmental groups form and flourish throughout the Chicago region.
We offer many opportunities for the community to engage with us via educational seminars, film showings, book discussions, and gatherings and activities throughout the year.
Board of Directors
(Click on board member for bio)
Beth Drucker
President
Kathryn Calkins
Vice President
Tina Schultz
Treasurer
Linda Kurtz
Secretary
Nicole Boomgaarden
Board Member
Megan Butler
Board Member
Amy Hanna Downey
Board Member
Sheila Hollins
Board Member
Carolyn Lvoff
Board Member
Margaret Martin-Heaton
Board Member
Chris Wynn
Board Member
Go Green Wilmette Interns
Where Are They Now?
Go Green Wilmette has a long history of mentoring young people through our volunteer opportunities and internship programs. High school, college and post-graduate students assist GGW with all our activities, enhancing our capacity and building their skills and resumes.
Here is just a sampling of our former Interns:
María Isabel Dabrowski
María assisted Go Green Wilmette from 2018 to 2021. She worked on all GGW programs and initiatives during that time and started GGW’s beach clean up program. She helped with two large environmental fairs and helped launch GGW’s on-line webinar series. She is the founder of @GoGreenForTheOcean on Instagram. María now works for the Center for Behavior & the Environment at Rare as Senior Outreach Associate.
María has a bachelor’s degree in Cognitive Neuroscience from Washington University in St. Louis (’18) and a master’s degree in Behavior, Education & Communication and Ecosystem Science & Management from the University of Michigan’s School for Environment and Sustainability (’22). At the University of Michigan, she studied the perspectives and values of Ecuadorian artisanal fishermen regarding ocean sustainability. You can read her thesis here.
Amy Hanna Downey
Amy began her Go Green Wilmette internship in 2017 after moving back to her hometown. She was interested in making a career change and was exploring opportunities in the solar energy field. She helped organize the annual environmental fair and began introducing the new concept of community solar to residents. Amy also helped with the annual Solar Tour. She has since become a dedicated GGW Board member and solar energy specialist.
Amy has a bachelor’s degree in Zoology and Conservation from University of Wisconsin, Madison and a master’s in Biology from National-Louis University. She worked as a master zookeeper at the Lincoln Park Zoo for ten years until her passion for environmental conservation took her to Uganda. Upon returning to the states, she started her internship with Go Green Wilmette which led to her first job in the solar industry. She now works for CertaSun, where she is the Solar Operations Director.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/amyhannadowney/
Ruthie Gold
Ruthie was an intern for Go Green Wilmette in 2016. She was especially interested in our education and outreach efforts, helping with our environmental fair and many other activities. She was website manager for our fair event website and helped create a website for Go Green Illinois, a group founded by GGW in 2013. Following her internship, she joined the Garfield Park Conservatory, coordinating youth and family programs including the Urban Roots summer program.
Ruthie earned her master’s degree in Environmental Conservation Education from New York University. She is now the Program Director at the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, where she oversees the organization’s robust sailing and onshore educational and public programming. She has worked for a variety of organizations doing environmental education including the New York Botanical Gardens in the Bronx.
Emily Hammermeister
Emily started as an intern with Go Green Wilmette in 2019, after graduating from Loyola University Chicago with a BS in Environmental Science. Emily helped with the final Go Green Wilmette environmental fair in March of 2020, right before the Covid shutdown. She was also responsible for promoting community solar in partnership with Trajectory Energy, a solar development company based in Illinois.
After working closely with Emily, Jon Carson, Trajectory’s managing partner, offered her a position to expand their community solar work across the state. She accepted the position with Trajectory while continuing to support Go Green Wilmette as an intern.
At Trajectory, Emily has worked on a wide range of projects and is now Operations Manager. The company has grown from 11 employees when she joined them to a team of 40.
Sarah Harvey
.Sarah was an intern at Go Green Wilmette in 2012. She helped coordinate the annual environmental fair and expanded Go Green Wilmette’s social media presence and outreach. She earned a BS in Environmental Science and Natural Resources from University of Illinois and an MBA from DePaul.
After her internship, Sarah worked with the Delta Institute and the Green Chicago Restaurant Coalition. She was hired in 2015 as one of the first sustainability analysts at Hyatt Hotels Corporation, rising to the position of Sustainability Manager. She is now Senior Manager of Climate Change and Sustainability Services at EY (Ernst and Young).
Ashley Holt
Ashley was an intern with Go Green Wilmette from January of 2015 until May of 2016 after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in political science and economics from Washington College. As an intern, she strengthened GGW’s social media presence and expanded outreach. Ashley had a particular interest in fundraising and was responsible for organizing our first Sip Red, Go Green event. She created community engagement campaigns and social media content including a video on the importance of going green. https://youtu.be/sCwweoCzlSA
After Ashley was hired by The Nature Conservancy of Illinois as the Development Operations Coordinator, she became a valued Go Green Wilmette Board member. She currently works as the Executive Director for The Louis Shulman Hillel Foundation at the University of Iowa, where she integrates sustainability throughout every activity of the chapter.
Annie Mollman
Annie was an intern at Go Green Wilmette from May of 2023 until August of 2024. She came to GGW after graduating from Colgate University and working in environmental education and conservation. During her tenure, she focused on engaging with management and residents of condominium and apartment buildings to discuss ways they can adopt additional sustainable practices. She also represented Go Green Wilmette at community events and organized speakers for in-person and virtual seminars.
Through her internship, Annie was connected with Evergreen Climate Innovations, where she became the Strategic Partnerships intern during the summer of 2024. In the fall of 2024, Annie began a master’s program in Ecosystem Science and Policy at University College Dublin in Ireland.
Greg Vasilion
Greg was Go Green Wilmette’s first high school intern in the summer of 2012. He got a BA from Kalamazoo College studying Business with a concentration in Environmental Studies. Greg spent a semester at the International Sustainable Development Studies Institute in Thailand studying a variety of sustainable initiatives throughout the country.
After working in the field of residential solar, Greg now develops utility-scale wind and solar projects at Invenergy. His job consists of everything from the selection of a project area to the start of construction, including coordinating with stakeholders in the communities where projects will be located.
Joshua Glucksman
Videographer
After cultivating deep ties with Go Green Wilmette while leading New Trier High School’s Environmental Club in 2019 and 2020, Joshua joined the GGW team as free-lance videographer, creating an assortment of educational videos. He shot a short film about the importance of Gillson Park’s bird habitat and created Sustainable Yard Tour videos in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2024.
Joshua is a member of the class of 2024-25 at Middlebury College, focused on a degree in Religion and Environmental Studies. He is also involved with human rights organizations, and loves learning languages. He spent a year living in Israel in 2020 learning Hebrew and will spend a year starting in August, 2024 in Jordan learning Arabic. He studies the Quran, New Testament, and Old Testament in their original languages, and is looking to pursue further studies in the intersection between Abrahamic faiths and the environment.
Notable Accomplishments
Listed below are some of our accomplishments over the years, organized under the Four Pillars of our mission.
Pillar #1: Build Awareness and educating all generations.
Going Green Matters Fair and Webinar Series – After 14 years of hosting a very popular environmental fair, we were forced by the pandemic to shift our awareness efforts from in-person events to virtual events. The annual fair had grown from a few small exhibits in 2007 to become the premier environmental fair in the area by 2020. By the final year, there were more than 100 exhibits, and nearly 1,500 guests, volunteers and exhibitors participated. Starting in 2021, we created a series of webinars on interesting environmental topics with a local angle, engaging experts to share their knowledge and experience. The webinars are held live and also recorded and posted on our YouTube channel. We have had hundreds of live webinar participants and thousands of YouTube views. We will continue to use monthly webinars as our primary way to build awareness and educate our community.
Guided Nature Outings – Go Green Wilmette has led family-friendly guided tree walks in the fall and bird walks during the annual spring migration season for nearly a decade. We also have hosted a fall seed collecting event in the Gillson Park bird habitat.
Sustainable Yard Tour – In 2013, we began hosting free annual tours of private yards and gardens in Wilmette featuring native plants, edible gardens, stormwater management and more. We have featured 60 gardens and welcomed over 1,000 visitors. We encourage guests to walk or bicycle between gardens. Starting in 2021, GGW has created and posted videos of each featured yard so that people can learn from our tour hosts all year long. Videos are available on our YouTube channel.
Solar Home Tour – In 2021, GGW launched its first annual local tour of houses with solar panel installations. Homeowners from Wilmette and beyond have been able view the panels and talk with many of the homeowners about their solar installations. The tour is held in cooperation with the Illinois Solar Energy Association.
Educational booths at the Farmer’s Market and festivals – GGW has been a presence at Wilmette markets and festivals since 2006, offering information about upcoming programming, environmental issues, educational opportunities and general resources for the community.
Pillar #2: Take Action and building community with our neighbors
Waste reduction, food composting and recycling opportunities – We have organized campaigns to increase household and business recycling, reduce food waste, eliminate single use plastics and recycle electronics and Styrofoam. We helped establish food-composting programs at District 39 schools and New Trier High School and continue to encourage residents to compost food scraps as well. We partnered with local Boy Scout troops to green their pancake breakfasts and plan Eagle Scout projects. We offer green event guidelines on our website for use by schools and communities. We collect pumpkins for composting each autumn after Halloween. In 2021, we hosted a repair clinic where residents brought items needing to be fixed. Items ranged from electronics to clothes and everything in between. We arranged for donations of energy efficient light bulbs to local food pantries.
School sustainability support – Members of Go Green Wilmette have served on sustainability committees in District 39 and New Trier High School and have advised other school districts. We organized a local school sustainability conference in 2015, bringing in experts to address and advise 13 local school districts. We supported and advised school garden programs. We participated in Go Green Illinois Schools, a group founded to coordinate regional school sustainability efforts.
Native plant sale – We launched our annual native plant sale in 2016 and have sold over 17,000 native plants to local residents. The sales have helped increase habitat for birds and pollinators, and aided in stormwater management in our area. Proceeds from this event have been used to further our efforts to raise awareness and educate our community. We have helped many other groups establish their own native plant sales.
Habitat Restoration – Working in partnership with the Wilmette Park District, Go Green Wilmette has participated in native plant installations, most significantly the Gillson Park Bird Habitat. We helped write the grant to fund the project and coordinated 350 volunteers for the plant installation. We organize volunteer groups to help maintain the habitat throughout the year, pulling invasive weeds, collecting native seeds, and monitoring the health of the habitat. In 2021, GGW organized the first Habitat Helpers group for Mallinckrodt Park to help maintain the park’s extensive native gardens.
Programs and activities – We have organized and participated in a variety of activities including bike events with Bike Walk Wilmette and regular beach clean-ups at Gillson Park, and have helped reduce the environmental impact of local events.
Pillar #3: Engage in Advocacy on behalf of the Earth and its people
Wilmette’s ordinance restricting the use of gas-powered leaf blowers – In 2006, we instigated adoption of an important ordinance to reduce both air and noise pollution from mid-May through mid-September. (This was the issue that brought the founding members of Go Green Wilmette together.) We have worked with the Village to help enforce and strengthen the ordinance. In 2021, we hosted four meetings for local communities to coordinate efforts to adopt, strengthen and enforce local restrictions. These meetings led to the establishment of the Regional Working Group on Leaf Blowers, representing twelve municipalities addressing this issue. Our efforts have served as a model for other communities.
Wilmette’s Tree Ordinance – In 2022, Wilmette adopted a new, stronger tree ordinance after several years of GGW efforts in partnership with the Village of Wilmette and the Chicago Region Trees Initiative. The ordinance protects our tree canopy and makes it much more difficult to remove large, healthy, mature trees that provide many benefits to all of us. The ordinance serves as a model for other communities examining their own ordinances. GGW shares materials and expertise related to tree protection with others working to protect trees.
Environmental & Energy Commission (EEC) – Proposed by GGW in 2006, the EEC was formed by the Village to provide assistance to the Village Board with well-researched recommendations for environmental policies the Village should adopt. In the fall of 2021, the Village formally adopted the Wilmette Sustainability Plan drafted by the EEC. GGW monitors the EEC’s activities through our liaison to the Commission.
Active transportation – GGW has collaborated closely with local advocacy group Bike Walk Wilmette on active transportation issues and events. In partnership with Go Green Illinois, we organized a summit on walk and bike issues featuring nationally recognized leader Mark Fenton. The 2016 event included a presentation for 150 advocates and walk audits in five communities. In partnership with the Village and the Wilmette Harbor Rotary Club, we helped design and install about 30 Wilmette-branded bike racks.
Pillar #4: Provide Advice as a trusted resource for our community
Community resource offerings – Since our founding, Go Green Wilmette has produced a bi-monthly newsletter that reaches more than 2,400 households. Our newsletter has served as a resource for other local environmental groups. We have regularly updated our website to serve as a resource for the community. GGW distributed an annually updated recycling guide for residents and businesses until 2020, when our local guide was combined with the SWANCC Reuse/Recycle Directory. We have offered green tips in our newsletter and on our website, and have submitted tips for the Village of Wilmette to include in their weekly email communications.
Go Green Illinois – Go Green Wilmette founded Go Green Illinois in 2013. The mission of the group has been to help establish locally-based environmental groups in all communities, share best practices, and collaborate on issues that cross municipal boundaries. Representatives from 30 neighboring communities and organizations have attended meetings six times a year to network about community-based environmental issues. Additionally, group leaders began meeting separately to collaborate in between the open meetings. The group launched a website for members, gogreenillinois.org. Go Green Wilmette has assisted other community groups in establishing their own by-laws, websites and newsletters, and to organize local yard tours, solar tours, habitat workdays, waste reduction campaigns and beach cleanups.
Mentoring & Internships – GGW has mentored young people from our community and beyond by providing volunteer opportunities and internships. Students as young as elementary school have exhibited at our events. We have worked with middle school green teams and high school environment club members. We have provided internships for high school, college and post-graduate students. Our interns have been admitted to leading graduate schools and landed rewarding careers in the field.
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Get In Touch
Go Green Wilmette
P.O. Box 954
Wilmette, IL 60091
info@gogreenwilmette.org
Go Green Wilmette is a tax-exempt organization under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3) and Illinois Department of Revenue regulations. Contributions are deductible to the fullest extent permitted by law